


Best Present Ever Made

by jagwriter78



Category: Farscape
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-12-18
Updated: 2005-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25529308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jagwriter78/pseuds/jagwriter78
Summary: This has only been spellchecked and not beta'ed since it was directly written to my LJ during work (damn, I actually got paid to do this! LOL Well, sort of.....). I stole a name from Hezmanagirl, hope you don't mind :)
Relationships: John Crichton/Aeryn Sun
Kudos: 1





	Best Present Ever Made

**Author's Note:**

> This has only been spellchecked and not beta'ed since it was directly written to my LJ during work (damn, I actually got paid to do this! LOL Well, sort of.....). I stole a name from Hezmanagirl, hope you don't mind :)

They stood in the cold evening breeze, their coats thightly wrapped around their bodies. Each of them had a child tightly attached to their hands. The toddler stared at the blinking lights at awe, mouth gaping, as she tightened the grip on her mother's hand and snuggled closer to her legs.

"Thissis mismis?" the boy, holding on to his father's hand, asked as he was guided to the front door of the building.

"It's Christmas Eve, buddy. Daddy screwed a little with the time," his father told him.

"Wand!" the girl suddenly exclaimed as she let go off her mother's hand and darted for the colorful lights to her left that formed a reindeer.

A pair of tiny hands reached for it, fingers almost gripping around the steel outlines of the animal when she was lifted from the ground by her mother. She sat the girl on her hip who immediately let her displeasure be known by first wailing loudly, and then sticking out her bottom lip, pouting silently when her mother gave her the most dreaded 'you better stop that now' look.

"Whassat?" the boy asked again, pointing at the silver angel hanging from the front door of the apartment building, "An' whad aw we doing? Wanna go home."

"That is an angel. They live in heaven, watching over everyone on Earth. And we are here because your aunt lives here."

"Auntie Chi lives on Hi... Hi... Hiberia," the boy said, and a smile spread on his face as he looked up at his father, obviously pleased with himself that he almost pronounced the planet's name the right way, "Thissis not Hiberia."

"Yes, she lives on Hyneria," John sighed as he scanned the door bells for the name he was looking for, "Your aunt Olivia lives here. Used to live here. Hopefully still lives here."

"Wanddat!" a wail suddenly came from behind father and son, and John turned to see his daughter trying to wriggle out of Aeryn's grip, two arms reaching for the blinking reindeer standing in the front yard behind them.

"Why did we come here anyway?" Aeryn asked annoyed as she shifted her daughter from one side to the other, trying to keep her from climbing over her shoulder.

John rolled his eyes heavenwards, then silently turned his attention back to the door bells. A smile broke out on his face when he found the name he was looking for. He lifted his son into his arm, pointed at the bell, and a chubby little finger eagerly pressed it - but nothing happened.

"Did I do goody?" D'Argo asked while he looked at his father, "Nosing happen."

The boy shrugged his shoulders, crooking his head to his side when a voice suddenly echoed through the winter night.

"Hello?"

"It's the ghost of Christmas past," John replied and sat his son back down, gently ruffling his hair.

"John?" a voice shrieked on the other end, and they all heard the door buzzer go off.

He leaned against the front door, gently pushing D'Argo inside, then holding it open for Aeryn and their daughter to silently slip inside. Footsteps echoed through the hallway, rushing down the stairs, rapidly approaching them. They had gotten as far as the bottom of the first set of stairs when Olivia appeared at the top.

"Oh my God, Johnny!"

She descended the stairs like a whirlwind, throwing herself into her brother's waiting arms. He whirled her around, joyous laughter echoing through the long hallway. She wasn't ready to let go off him when he finally set her down, clinging to his side when he turned her to face his new family.

"Whossat?" D'Argo asked as his tiny hand reached for his mother's, and he slowly retreated to stand halfway hidden behind her.

"That's your aunt Olivia. Remember I told you about her?"

The boy nodded, still not sure though what to think of the strange human lady standing in front of him.

"Hello Olivia," Aeryn finally said and placed her daughter down to greet her sister-in-law with a hug.

Like her brother though, the girl immediately stepped back, trying to hide behind her mother's long slender legs.

John just shook his head at his children, "What's up with you kids, you usually are anything but shy."

He reached for his son and gently pulled him towards him. Two arms immediately wrapped around his legs as he stared up at Olivia.

"Whatever is attached to my leg looks like my son, Livie, but he sure does not act like him," John chuckled as he tried to pry the boy from his legs, but without much success.

"D'Argo," Aeryn spoke up while she maneveured her daughter around her legs to stand in front of her, "please say hello to your aunt Olivia."

"Hello," he finally mumbled, and loosened the grip on his father's legs, "I'm D."

Olivia crouched down to be on eye level with him, extending her hand to gently touch the boy's face. He first pulled back, but when he felt his father nudging him in the side, he relaxed a bit and allowed his aunt to first tap his nose, then tenderly carress his cheek.

"He looks like you," she marvelled, her gaze locked on the child in front of her, "He's got your eyes."

"He's got the Crichton curse," John chuckled, "Don't wanna think what those eyes can do when he's a teenager."

Olivia laughed as she moved on to the toddler standing in front of Aeryn. The girl's arms were crossed behind her back, desperately holding on to the front of her mother's long black leather coat.

"And you are?"

"Momma!" the girl immediately wailed, turned around and raised her arms in the air to be picked up.

"I swear, these are not my kids," John shook his head at the scene in front of him, "They look like them, but I swear they must have been switched the moment we walked through those doors."

"I understand," Olivia uttered as she raised to her feet to face her brother, "This all must be new to them."

"They are tired. It has been a long day for them," Aeryn tried to explain, cuddling her daughter close to her chest while the girl laid her head on he rmother's shoulder, her mouth immediately finding its way into her mouth.

"Let's get you guys upstairs. It's rather chilly down here," Olivia turned to her side, indicating for her brother to walk up the stairs towards her apartment.

She followed the Crichton family silently, watching her brother guiding his son patiently while the boy stopped at each and every corner to point out something he had not seen before, demanding to be told what the strange thing was and would do.

Her eyes would occassionally fall on the girl in Aeryn's arm who peeked curiously over her mother's shoulder with drowsy eyes, scrutinizing her carefully, probably trying to figure out if the stranger was trustworthy in her eyes or not.

They finally reached the apartment, and once again, D'Argo stopped his father in the doorway, pointing out something that was pinned on the front door.

"Red ribbon, Christmas symbol," he told his son and closed the door behind them when all had stepped inside.

"Whassat? And dat? Whassat?" the tiny voice demanded again, fingers pointing in each and every direction, feet tapping around in the small front room, until they suddenly stopped dead in their tracks, "Whossat?"

John turned over his shoulder. There opposite his son stood a boy dressed in pj's, clutching a blanket, thumb in mouth. He was younger than D'Argo, but the resemblance was uncanny. Short brown hair, and eyes blue like the ocean.

The boy first looked at D'Argo, than quickly searched for the one adult in the room he knew. The tiny hand clutching the blanket was raised into the air, telling Olivia that he wanted to be picked up. She did so with a smile on her face, and the boy willingly went into her arms, snuggling close to her body.

"You've got kids, I got a kid," Olivia explained and shrugged with her shoulders, "Meet my son."

"Hey kiddo," John beamed as he ruffled the boy's short hair, "I'm your uncle John, buddy."

"Mainaim," the boy mumbled, thumb still plugged in his mouth, but immediately realized that the adults had not understood him.

He removed his thumb from his mouth, and straightened in his mother's arms. He glanced at John, then repeated what he had told him before, "My name."

He poked his tiny finger at him, insistingly telling him over and over, "My name. My name. John. My name. Me Joooooohnny! Mama, me Johnny!"

"Gotya name, daddy!" D'Argo chuckled as he pulled at the toddler's blanket to get his attention, "I'm D!"

"I guess we all have a lot to tell each other," Olivia finally broke the silence in the room, and her son let out a big yawn, "I gotta put him back to bed, otherwise he will be all cranky tomorrow."

She turned around to face Aeryn who was cradling a half asleep toddler girl in her arms, lowly humming for her and rocking her gently from side to side to lull her to sleep.

"You can put her down in Johnny's bed if you like. It's big enough for the two of them."

"Thank you," Aeryn replied, glacing at her daughter who had one eye closed, and the other half open to watch what was going on around her.

"Say good night, sweetie," Olivia gently brushed her son's hair out of his face.

"Nitey nite," the boy responded, and waved his hand at John and D'Argo while he was carried down the hallway towards his room.

A few minutes later, little Johnny was settled in his bed, again thumb in mouth and warmly covered by his blanket. He was laying on his side, intently watching the strange girl sleeping next to him, and observing the strange woman gently carressing her daughter's hair.

"Be a good boy for mommy and be nice to her, okay?" Olivia whispered to her son and placed a kiss on top of his head, "Sleep tight, sweetie." 

Like her sister-in-law had done, Aeryn then also bent over the children and placed a kiss on daughter's head like she did every night. The toddler was out like a light, and she was glad that she was so worn out from the day's events. If it had been any different, her stubborn daughter would not have gone to sleep in a strange bed that easily.

"He's a beautiful boy," Aeryn said as the two woman left the room.

"Thank you," Olivia replied with a smile as she carefully closed the door behind her.

"You named him John."

Olivia nodded, "I didn't plan on giving him that name, but when they placed him in my arms for the first time and I looked into his eyes - it was like seeing John all over."

"I understand. I can look into D'Argo's eyes and see his father."

"Why did you..."

Aeryn finished the sentence for her, "... call him D'Argo?"

Olivia nodded, and immediately realized that it probably was not a question she should have asked. She had named her son after her lost brother. They probably had named their son after their friend as well. She could see the pain in Aeryn's eyes, even after all those years.

The Sebacean woman turned away as she answered, "He died so we could live."

"I'm sorry."

"It's who he was."

Olivia nodded solemly, then immediately put a smile on her face to forget about the situation she had maneuvered them into, "Let's see what John's up to."

They found him in the living room, sitting on the floor in front of the colorful lit Christmas tree. D'Argo sat between his legs, safely held in his father's eyes while he watched the lights blink, reflecting the different colors on the shiny balls and ornaments hanging from each and every branch. He was nibbling on a candy cane he had obviously taken from the tree. His eyes were never standing still, always catching something new he had never seen before.

"Mommy, look!" he exclaimed when he saw his mother enter the living room, and immediately pointed a the glimmering ornaments on the tree, "Thassa wocking hose. A socking. Thad looks like orb, but isnot. Daddy gave me dandy dane!"

He removed the candy from his mouth, holding it up for his mother to see before he put it back into his mouth, eagerly chewing on the hard red and white striped sugar cane.

"Candy cane, buddy."

Aeryn smiled as she sat down next to her husband and son, her eyes lightening up like the boy's when she caught sight of the decorated Christmas tree. She pulled D'Argo into her lap, one arm wrapping around his tiny body while the other kept pointing out different things hanging from the tree.

John watched them for a moment, then decided that mother and son were so engrossed in studying the decorations on the Christmas tree that he rose to his feet and joined his sister who was watching from the doorway.

"It's good to have you back," Olivia remarked and enveloped her brother into another hug.

"It's good to be back."

"Dad sure kept this a nice secret when I talked to him earlier."

"He doesn't know yet we're here."

Olivia raised her eyebrows, "Why not?"

"I had planned to knock at his door on Christmas morning and just say 'surprise' cause Aeryn didn't really like the idea of jumping out of a big wrapped up gift box."

"Dad's awaiting Johnny and I tomorrow morning around 10 for the traditional Crichton gift opening ceremony. Come with us."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Olivia couldn't wipe the smile from her face, "I still can't believe you are standing here with me right now. When dad told me you had closed the wormhole, I lost all hope," her voice trailed off for a moment, "And now... you've got a family."

"So do you. You're looking great, Liv. I never pictured you to be a mom, but you looked happy with him."

"It's not like I had pictured it, but I am happy. He's my everything. And look at you, one of each. Like you always wanted."

"Just didn't get the dog and the white picket fence yet," he remarked, a laugh erupting from his lips, "Got the wife though, and right now, the statistical 2.5 kids."

"Aeryn's pregnant?"

John just nodded as his gaze wandered over to his wife and son who were still sitting in front of the Christmas tree, both giggling like children, pointing out this and that attached to the tree in front of them.

"I can't wait for dad to meet his grandkids. Ever since they were born, I was looking forward to this one moment. Now it's finally here."

"I think I need to put 911 on speed dial on my cell phone for tomorrow, just in case."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Olivia pulled her car into the empty spot in the garage of her father's house and turned off the engine. John was seated in the passanger seat next to her, Aeryn and the children in the back. Johnny sat in his car seat in the middle, his feet waggling up and down with joy, while D'Argo, seated behind his father, quietly observed the new surroundings on Earth.

Aeryn was sitting with her daughter in her lap on the left, trying her best to keep the cranky girl occupied, pointing out new things for her, but the toddler did not seem to be interested at all.

"Poppy's house, poppy's house, poppy's house!" Johnny exclaimed and fidgeted with his seatbelt which finally came undone.

He bolted from his seat, landing smack on top of D'Argo on his right who just looked at the boy irriated while Johnny pulled at the door handle to open the door.

"Lemme out, out, lemme out!" he whined, then exclaimed a loud "oof!" when D'Argo shoved him from his lap.

Johnny started to wail loudly immediately, and his little cousin chimed in a moment later. Aeryn groaned audibly as she got out of the car, bouncing her crying daughter in her arms. Her eyes met with John who had let the boys out of the car and was now cradling his crying nephew in his arms.

"What a way to start off Christmas," he sighed as he handed Johnny to his sister.

The toddler quieted immediately, as did the girl once her eyes caught something sparkly hanging from the door leading to the kitchen.

"Let's do this," Olivia uttered, as she placed her son on the ground next to her.

"Yup," John nodded and bent down to his son, "Remember, D, only speak English, and don't tell anyone your name. If they ask you for your name, you tell them what?"

"D'Awgo Sun-Cwichton," he replied, nodding enthusiastically.

"No, you tell them your name is?"

"D'Awgo Sun-Cwichton."

John shook his head again, "You're D, buddy."

"Yes, I'm D!"

"Good. Remember, you are D if they ask. Now be a good boy and go with your aunt Olivia, okay?"

D'Argo nodded, immediately reaching for his aunt's hand. Olivia smiled down at the boy, who returned instantly returned it. He then grabbed little Johnny's hand, and walked off towards the door, dragging aunt and cousin behind him.

"Buddy, you forgot your sister," John called after his very determined son, and chuckled.

"She's cwying, not taking hew. Bye!"

Aeryn just shook her head at her son, then handed her daughter to Olivia.

"Be a good girl for mommy, okay? We'll be with you guys in a minute."

The girl nodded at her mother, then turned her attention back to the glittery object at the kitchen door. Not a moment later, Olivia and the kids had disappeared through the same door, and it closed tightly behind them. Once inside, they found the kitchen empty.

"Dad?" Olivia called out, and heard a thumping sound coming from the living room. She let go off D'Argo's hand and rushed to the living room where she found her father on top of a ladder standing in front of the living room. Beneath him, a box had fallen open, shattered pieces of several Christmas balls scattered all over the floor.

"Geez, you scared the hell out of me. Didn't I teach you to knock?" Jack Crichton breathed and climbed down on the ladder.

His eyes fell on the girl in his daughter's arms, and she could see the confusion wash over his face.

"Last time I checked I had a grandson, and not a granddaughter," he uttered, when suddenly, two boys, hands joined, bolted into the room.

"Poppy, poppy, poppy!" the younger exclaimed as he let go of the older's hand, and darted for his grandfather, throwing himself into his awaiting arms.

"Johnny brought some friends. I hope you don't mind, dad."

Jack first whirled his grandson through the air, then sat him down on his hip, "On Christmas morning? Don't they have a family to be with?"

"Actually..." Olivia started but was cut off by her nephew almost instantly, "I am D!"

D'Argo was standing in front of Jack, looking up at his grandfather with curious eyes.

"It's nice to meet you, D," Jack replied a little irritated, but then ruffled the boy's hair.

That was when he noticed his eyes. He stared at D'Argo for a moment, then reverted his eyes to Johnny, than back to D'Argo. The same blue eyes. The same Crichton eyes. He quickly shook his head. No, that couldn't be. He was imagining things. Luckily, Johnny started poking him in the side, and his attention was back to his youngest grandson.

"Poppy, poppy, fwy me!"

A broad smile appeared on Jack's face as he lifted the boy into the air. He remembered well how he used to do that with John when he was a kid. He loved to fly in the air, be spun around in circles, while his sister usually started crying the minute he lifted them above his head.

"Mowe, mowe, mowe!" the boy demanded, and Jack spun faster and faster until he was out of breath.

"Mowe, poppy," Johnny demanded, but Jack shook his head at him.

"Poppy needs to catch his breath for a second."

He set the boy down while his hand reached for the ladder for support.

"Damn, I am getting too old for this crap," he chuckled, and his eyes once again set on young D'Argo, and a set of piercing blue eyes.

"Who did you say their parents are?"

"I didn't," Olivia replied and sat her niece who had started to get restless, onto the ground.

Tiny feet immediately ran for the Christmas tree, and hands pulled at something small hanging from the bottom branch. With a jerk, it came lose, the girl took off in the other direction, holding on closely to her newest possession.

"Wait, wait, WAIT!" Jack called after her, and caught her just in time before she bolted from the living room.

He lifted her into the air, and carefully took the ornament from her hands.

"That's glass, that's breakable. You don't wanna break it and hurt yourself."

"Whassat?" D'Argo asked curiously, jumping up and down to get a look at what his sister had snatched from the tree.

"It's a star," Jack explained as he crouched down and placed the girl on his knee.

He held the glassy star out of D'Argo to see, and Johnny joined them a moment later as well. The girl's hands kept on reaching for the star, but Jack held it out of her reach.

"Whassat?" D'Argo asked again, pointing at the letters that were engraved on the star.

"That's my wife's name. Leslie."

"Me!" the girl suddenly piped in, her hands desperately trying to reach for the star again, "Me Lessie, Lessie, Lessie! Wanna!"

"No," D'Argo slapped his sister's hand away, "You can't havit, Lessie. Not yours."

"Lessie?" Jack asked, his eyes fixed on the girl in his arms.

"Her name is Lesryn," a voice behind him suddenly said, and Jack froze.

It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. He kept staring at the children in front of him. It all fit together now. The boy, he had the Crichton eyes. And the girl, she was a carbon copy of Aeryn Sun.

Tears welled in his eyes when Jack Crichton first rose to his feet, then slowly turned around. There in the doorway stood his long lost son, his arm tightly wrapped around Aeryn Sun's waist.

The girl in his arms reached out for them immediately, and Aeryn took her with a big smile.

"Son," Jack choked out, then just gathered his son into his arms.

"Merry Christmas, dad," John said, trying to blink back the tears in his own eyes.

"This is the best Christmas present you ever made me."


End file.
